Category: Equipment

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EmberLit FireAnt now on Kickstarter

If you’ve missed previous kickstarters for other folding ultralight stoves, you have one more chance now.  Utah local Mikhail has a new Kickstarter for his FireAnt Titanium Stove. Check it out here:

Also, no need to worry about this project funding, as that only took 6 hours. The price is extremely good for titanium, so worth getting in on the early pricing. Ultralight stoves like this and the Folding Firebox are excellent things to keep in your bags, since they can run on scraps compared to a large fire. They help leave far less traces at your campsites, and use much less fuel to get you what you need.

I’ve already kicked for one, and if you don’t already have a folding stove, you really should take the opportunity on this great deal. Continue reading “EmberLit FireAnt now on Kickstarter”

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New Firebox on Kickstarter

One of my favorite prepper toys over the last couple of years has been my Firebox. A small folding stove made here in Utah by a local businessman. It’s been a wonderfully useful little folding stove, although sadly one of my scouts just lost the two pegs (hey guys, do you sell those individually?).

Now even better news. While small and somewhat light, it hasn’t fit the “ultralight” category that can be really nice. But now there is a new product coming out. Check it, and jump over to kickstarter and pre-order this thing.

Right now my decision is just what level I want to kick it at. If you look they have upgraded packages that include carriers, stable fuel, combos with the 5″ classic version and more. Don’t miss this discounted chance to get an excellent stove.

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Utah Gun Exchange: A KSL Classifieds Replacement

After the Newtown shooting last week, many people looked for a way to respond. Companies stopped offering firearms for sale online, and KSL joined them by terminating their firearms section in their online classifieds.

Within hours, a few friends and I launched a new Utah gun classifieds website. Called the Utah Gun Exchange, it aims to fill the void left by KSL’s decision, offering Utahns the ability to privately buy and sell their firearms and firearms-related supplies.

If Americans are to learn any lesson from the atrocity which occurred last week, it’s that more precaution needs to be taken. As we regularly advocate on this website, individuals should be prepared for any scenario, and have the appropriate training and tools necessary should an emergency occur.

Our goal with the Utah Gun Exchange is to encourage exactly this, and enable Utahns to network with one another and obtain the supplies they feel are necessary to protect what’s most important to them.

I hope to see you in the exchange!

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Build the Perfect Bug Out Bag – Book Give Away

Back in May, I pre-ordered the book “Build the Perfect Bug Out Bag: Your 72-Hour Disaster Survival Kit”. When it arrived a short time later I read through it and was immediately impressed with the job the author Creek Stewart had done. As I was reading it the thought kept emerging that this book was exactly the sort of detailed how-to that we like to do here at Utah Preppers, but on a larger scale. As it turns out, the book initially started out as a blog post on the art of manliness blog. After receiving a good response, Creek decided to work on expanding the concept into a comprehensive how to guide.
Continue reading “Build the Perfect Bug Out Bag – Book Give Away”

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Coast Rapid Response 3.0 Knife Review

Coast Rapid Response 3.0 Knife

Time for another product review. This is the Coast Rapid Response 3.0 knife, built by Coast Products out of Portland Oregon.Coast Rapid Response 3.0 Knife

This knife features:

  • 3 inch blade
  • 400 Series stainless steel (I wish they mentioned which 400 series.  Saying 400 isn’t very helpful).
  • Liner-Lock, with their “Max-Lock” safety on the side of the handle.
  • One hand opener called S.A.T “Smooth Action Technology” with ambidextrous thumb studs

One of the major selling points on this knife is their spring assisted open.  It is quite snappy.  To prevent any accidental openings you can use their “Max-Lock” on the side of the blade.  When engaged it will prevent the blade from either opening or closing.  During vigorous usage I engaged the Max-Lock unintentionally, then spent a little time fighting with the blade to get it closed.

Coast Rapid Response 3.00 Liner-lock view

You can purchase the Rapid Repsonse 3.0 for $40.00

At $40.00 this is a great knife, especially if you consider that it is a one handed spring assisted opener.  I’ve had this knife in my pocket for about a month now and have used it in a variety of cutting jobs.  The last job I threw at it frankly was knife abuse, but it handled it as well as could be expected.  I was helping a friend lay sod, and I used the knife to cut in the sod.  It lasted through about 3 cuts with a good edge, and soldiered on through the rest of the job if I sawed quite a bit at it.

Once I had thoroughly dulled the blade I took it home, cleaned it up and gave it a good sharpen.  Sharpening this knife gave me a little trouble because of the thumb studs.  It wouldn’t fit properly in any of my power sharpeners, so I had to get out some sharpening rods.  The knife sharpened up just fine and cuts like a champ.

If you have larger hands (I usually wear XL sized gloves) the knife feels a little small sometimes.  For a pocket knife this is great, if you are intending to do longer more rigorous cutting jobs you might want to consider their Rapid Response 3.90 which is a little larger.

You can also watch my video review on the Rapid Response.

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Thoughts on refreshing a 72 hour kit

I recently had the chance to go back through my 72 hour kits.  I changed out some clothing for my children, removed some things that didn’t make sense anymore and replaced the food.  As I was doing this I found a few things that made me glad I had been looking over my kits.

The first item I found was in the food.  I had placed pop-top mixed fruit cans, and in three of my kits the tops had been popped.  The contents had gotten all over the rest of the food, and then of course had dried out.  It was pretty gross.  So if you are going to use those types of cans make sure you pack them in a way that they can’t get accidentally opened. Continue reading “Thoughts on refreshing a 72 hour kit”

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Wok Like A Prepper With A Volcano or a Rocket

In my mind, I can hear the sound of an 80’s song, but I am not an egyptian. No, but I do like a Wok.  Most commonly associated with Chinese cooking, the wok actually has variants found from India to Japan.  Billions of people have relied on this simple pan as their main cooking pot for good reasons. The wok represents one of the most efficient means to utilize a fires heat and cook in a variety of ways. This is why we thought it to be a good test at our recent stove party.

In short, a woks shape allows it to provide the best surface area to connect with your heat source, and concentrate it for efficient cooking.  Depending on what food you use, you could boil, saute, stir fry, and more. So for our test, I grabbed some of the cheapest stew meat, and frozen veggies to test a stir fry.  This cooking method is good in a preparedness sense in that it allows you to take smaller pieces of whatever proteins and vegetables you can get your hands on, and quickly cook them with some flavor for a group.  This can be really important in an extended emergency when food fatigue has set in, or if you just are trying to get the most out fo your food budget today.

Continue reading “Wok Like A Prepper With A Volcano or a Rocket”

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Homemade camping stove

Sometimes you just want a small stove for your tent. Wouldn’t that be nice to have an actual wood-burning method of heating a shelter that doesn’t cost a fortune, and is easy to carry around? Now dont’ get me wrong, I truly covet a nice stove for the wall tent I dream of owning some day, but reality hasn’t let that come into my posession yet.

Continue reading “Homemade camping stove”

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Work Sharp Knife and Tool Sharpener

Having a sharp knife is critical.  I’m sort of a knife junkie, and am always looking for new and better ways to keep my tools sharp.  I was at a gun show earlier this year and picked up the “Work Sharp Knife and Tool Sharpener“.

What Is It (and what’s in the box):

This Work Sharp basically amounts to a hand held belt sander.  For the Alton Brown fans among us, this device is definitely a Multi-Tasker.  The package comes with several angle guides and some different grits of sanding belts.  The coarsest grit is for sharpening tools like shovels, axes or lawn mower blades.  The medium grit is for fixing up damaged or really dull blades.  The fine grit is for putting on a razor sharp polish. Continue reading “Work Sharp Knife and Tool Sharpener”